Private Finished Finding Presents of Mind

Oooh, scrapbook. He could run with that idea, although he wasn't quite sure what to make of the hamper. Shay was a private person, and it was hard to figure out what her actual favorite things were.

"I adopted all twelve, and the youngest was ten, so I skipped the baby phase entirely. I'm distinctly out of my element on that front," Angelo said with a laugh. "I'll give you a point for the scrapbook idea. A place to keep memories from birth would be nice. She's big on... memories, I guess?"

He considered for a moment, then nodded. "Which means you're up."

Wind's Respite let out an exasperated sigh as she watched Celeste and Angelo speak, glancing briefly to Mr. Parsons as he responded.

"Not at all," she admitted. "This is his first challenge. He's certainly physically capable, but I have absolutely no interest in making him fight or anything like that. He'd probably have done better with a Regalia more interested in combat or something barbaric like that."

Alright, maybe this was cheating a bit. Angelo cracked a smile as she described them.

"Alright," Angelo admitting. "Is it cheating if I know him? He was over at my house a week or two ago. He wanted really badly to learn how to cook, and supposedly he's starting classes. That said, he doesn't actually eat, so..."

He knew only a few things about Shale. That he had been recently adopted. That he was a gargoyle. He didn't eat food (Jude had mentioned as much after the fact). So Angelo took a moment to consider the implications of everything he knew.

"If you haven't," Angelo said. "Take him out on a shopping trip, juts the two of you. let him pick out stuff for his room. An alarm clock, a blanket, all that stuff. But make a day of it. I think more than anything he's probably trying to... impress you? Be involved in your life? Like, learning to cook because he knows its something you like, so that he can cook for you."

Wind's Respite nodded politely, glancing back towards Angelo and considering his suggestion before turning her attention to Celeste.

"Speaking from experience," Angelo admitted. "I took in... ten kids all at once. It was a lot to balance, and most of them needed some amount of assurance that I wasn't going to run off like the last person who adopted them. It's pretty normal, honestly, but if you want I could throw some books at you. I picked up a whole bunch with titles like So you've adopted and how to help a child find themselves at home. Read less than half of them, but what I did read was good."

They had a fair amount of common in terms of that, although he sure as hell hoped that she had less kids to handle than he did. She was probably taking a more proactive step though. Angelo had made it very clear to the kids he was taking in that he wasn't trying to be their parent, just their guardian, if only to prevent the clash of you're not my dad! They were almost all too old to really take on a new father figure just like that anyway.

Plus, you know, half of them had still-living fathers, some of which were in hell.

"Alright so, my second," he said, considering who to pick. "I want to describe him as hotheaded, but he's not actually. He's very considerate. Very polite. Well behaved, even if no one would seem it. A bit older than Shale but not by much. He hasn't quite decide what he wants to do with his life, and he's changed his mind like three times. Cop. EMT. Cop again, but internal affairs so he can yell at dirty cops... Does well in school. He was the only one living at home when I took in Jude and the others, so I want to get him something special just to remind him that I'm not... pushing him aside or anything. General interests... meditation. Soccer. Basketball... He's a pretty active kid."

Wind's Respite gave a small nod, glancing to Parsons before giving him a smile.

"He's certainly speaking from experience. He does a lot of thinking, which I suppose suits my abilities."

"I'll bring 'em over sometime," Angelo said. "I'm not doing anything with them anymore, and I've got some time off work. I've already got your number, so I'll give you a call and drop them off sometime this week." Well, maybe not her actual number considering some set up alternate phone numbers for the whole Regalia thing, but a way to contact her just the same.

Angelo considered. Truthfully, he didn't entirely feel it was a hit - but it was probably close enough. Spend some one on one time with Roa. A baseball game, maybe. Something with work, maybe.

"I'll give you the pass," Angelo said. "Although the next one definitely won't be solved with spend time with them, since it's going to be a bit tricky." He let out a laugh at the idea of getting a 'spend time with them' answer for the next one.

"You're up."

"Oh, she hasn't already?" Wind's Respite asked. "My first partner was... a poor fit. But Angelo asked if we could bond more or less immediately. I suppose because we were already familiar with each other at that point."

"Not without pulling it from police oficial business, and I don't do that. Bad practice. But..." He paused, pulling out his wallet and digging around until he pulled a business card, holding it out for her to take before waiting to hear her third challenge.

Alright, not someone he knew. Or at least not someone he knew and recognized. New, nature lover, part of the family.

"Continuing my eternal suggestion of 'spend time with them', taking them up through the Manta Carlos hiking trails would probably be nice. Letting them get used to the area, see what nature has to offer. If you want to do something a bit more gift-ee, grab them a set of identification books. Like, birds of Manta Carlos, trees of Manta Carlos, and then have him identify things as you walk. Letting him get to know the island while he gets to know you."

Wind's Respite gave a polite smile at the surprise.

"My original partner was... also Angelo, except younger and from another dimension. They were very similar, but Officer Genovese is a bit more well rounded, with a lot of the rough edges smoothed out."